Wow, I really missed out...... Track looked fast and fun. So did you learn to left foot brake?

I rotated my tires finally and it is shot...... mean camber wear.I think I'm going to Island Brake and Alignment and get some positive camber in back so when I rotate I can get more life out of my tires. Any ways as far as business goes looks like no more SCCA funding next year.

 

Hey Tom! Yeah, it was a pretty "wide open" course--no crazy multiple 180 & cross-over turns. The muscle cars probably liked that. There were a lot of new-model Challengers or Chargers (I can't tell the difference) and Mustangs. 16 or 17 total new folks. It took a really long time between runs.

Yeah, it was a trip seeing Chris drive the whole course left-foot braking. When I first saw him doing it, I was like, "What?! So I have to left-foot brake to drive like this?!" haha. So, yeah, I been trying to practice left-foot braking lately--trying to get used to it.

And yup, gotta preserve those tires. I was driving my 15s around for over a month & those 8 runs didn't help. Next day...quick, swap out to the 16s. It'll be a bummers not seeing you out there, but who knows...maybe one of these days....

BTW, I still have to give you the charger for the camera.

Laters.

 

Had the 1st SCCA event for the 2011 season today. Tom and I had our Fits out there. Great fun as always. And as always, thanks Brad for helping us out.

This was the 1st time I tried left-foot braking through the whole course. It felt a little odd but actually worked! I got my 2 fastest runs even though I probably wasn't doing it 100% correctly. Can't wait to try it again.

Here's a video of the event: ‪07-17-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs‬‏ - YouTube

Next event is in 2 weeks (on 7/21/11).

Laters...

 

New Season!

Great to see 2 Fits out there again.

Trying new things is good. Just practice.

There are a few left foot braking drivers out there but none at the event last week.

Practice this week and get yourself ready for next sunday.

I think you did pretty well and had some cones that got in the way but overall ok considering the layoff and the new driving approach.

Watch your video and see where you were having anything to improve on.

Are you going to try for the EVO school in January? if so the signup will be opening up soon, after the weekend.

 

Event two is tomorrow.

Good luck guys.

The competition is up so gotta drive real good and make the fewest mistakes.

Hope to see you there rain or shine.

By the way, it's good if it rains cuz I seen you both do really well in the wet.

 

Way to represent! If we want to come by to watch, just stop by, or do we need to check in with someone?

 

OK, good effort out there on a fairly open course that favored more power-

The top three were all about even-
Nissan Altima 42.944 seconds
Subaru RS 43.202 seconds
Raton 43.462 seconds

Tough course to do well and fairly long.

Be ready in two weeks.

 

Yeah, that was a pretty humbling experience. haha.

No matter what I tried, I couldn't get the times the Altima & Subaru were getting. The 2 hair-pins and turn to the finish had to be done perfect to catch them.

Still it was an exciting time. Here's the video from the event:
‪07-31-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs‬‏ - YouTube

Well, gonna try and better prep the Fit, some other small stuff, and work on that ever-present driver mod.

Thanks again for you help Brad. Just gotta see what happens next time.

Laters...

 

Have patience and keep trying.

Make the most out of your runs and stay calm.

If anything you tend to overdrive being pretty aggressive.

If you are still doing left foot braking that will take time but you can practice up- maybe in an open parking lot after hours.

The ST class cars are evenly matched so anything can happen and Howard did pretty well to get a sub 43 second run- just good driving.

I think it's always good to watch your videos and watch your hand positions. Also note the tight turns where your tires make the most noise as these are points when you may be understeering the most. A little is to be expected but anything more than a little will slow you down a lot.

 

wow those cones come up quick, i have never autoXed befor but i have tracked on a 2.5 mile road coarse (2.2 min laps) in my GD a couple years ago (i try to take the CRX out every time i can afford it)
i just wanted to say a few things
1: it looks like you don't move around much but we (three fits) learned how to fasten our stock belts so that they hella tight and never released the whole time we were racing (so tight it was almost hard to breath) and we were all AMAZED AT how much better we drove without having to try to keep our butts planted while driving (i can explain how to do this if you're interested) seriously your ass doesnt move!
2: do you have a short shifter? if so i'd suggest a circuit hero shift extender - it puts the shifter 4 inches closer to the steering wheel, i know it sounds crazy (i thought that too till i tried it) but it is SOOOO much easier to shift when going in to or out of the corners (think rally drivers) you need to already have a short shifter though, because it's like driving a bus otherwise!
i will be tracking my 2010 fit very shortly, and need to get a short shifter for it before i even attempt a track day (retiring the CRX soon)

loved the videos are they gopro? if so what version? mine (560) doesnt have as good of sound and was wondering if they have made the newer versions better sound wise??
keep "racing"

 

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. Didn't see your post until now.

1. Yeah, I end up just twisting the seat belt from the latch until its tight for the waist and chest. I tried the CGLock product which makes the lap belt super tight, but my chest belt was still loose. Went back to twisting on this last event.

2. Yeah, got a short-shifter, but mainly cuz the gear shifts w/ the stock one felt mushy. My shifter is fairly tall, but nowhere near rally-tall. I might try it if we shifted more. Maybe I'll try it one day. Anything to help. haha.

Thanks. Yeah, it's a GoPro Hero HD. I think it's a 960. The sound is pretty decent. The case I'm using is the one that picks up the outside sound more. If I mounted it outside I'd use the sealed on. I don't know how that would sound--haven't used it yet.

Have fun tracking your 2010 Fit. Keep us posted how you're doing. It would be great if someone would bring their 2009+ Fits out. Its funny, we don't have any CRXs autoXing. Would be interesting to see them out there.

Have fun! Laters...

 

Well, this past SCCA event was this past Sunday. The course had tons of slaloms--seemed to favor smaller cars like our Fits, but still got beat by the Altima. He found his mojo. Seems like you have to have a 'perfect' run to keep up now.

Thanks Brad for your help. I tried my best. Had a magical 2nd run, but couldn't improve on it. Still...had a great time.

Here's the video from the event: 08-14-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs - YouTube

Next event is on 9/11/11.

See ya...

 

You both did great.

You finished 29th and 36th on PAX overall so a solid showing vs all other Street Touring classed cars and better than overall in last event.

Your margin was 0.50 seconds which is very close and within driver margin.

I did notice that Howard was out there early in the morning walking the course and studying even though he drove after lunch. This allows more time for him to walk and observe the drivers in heats 1 and 2 then walk again at lunch. To me that is a good way to learn the course and be prepared. Also gives more time to draw the course and take some notes.

In the end you have to drive well and make the most of your car. I think in your class the cars are fairly even and it will always come down to driving your best- that will be the winning margin.

Same with my class, the difference was 0.09 seconds- the cars are matched, you have to do whatever you can to make the most of the course. It was a rushed morning for me with driving in Heat 1 and getting everything ready. I much prefer the other heats.

 

well thanks for the reply, i'm in no way telling you how to drive or track your car so don't be offended if i comment - please

i'm gonna tell you how to lock your belt so it never loosens <-- i think thats a word
1: sit in seat
2: move it back about three clicks further than you would sit in it normally
3: buckle your belt (normal - no twists)
4: lay the seat all the way back (like your gonna take a nap)
5: pull shoulder belt so that lap belt is tight, then directly infront of you (belt should be above you about 15") grab belt push it quickly toward the steering wheel (it should lock up tight)
6: keep pressure on it as you sit up
7: with your chest put pressure on the belt
8: let go with your hand and pull the seat back into the driving position (against your back)<-- this is kinda hard and may take practice
9: grab steering wheel to keep pressure on belt (so it doesnt release)with other hand reach down and slide the seat the three clicks or so to your normal distance from the pedals
it should be tight and shouldn't release for the entire time your tracking

if this doesn't make sence to anyone that wants to try it, PM me and i'll make a video and post it

about the shift extender, i know what you're saying about not shifting much during a race, i only shift a few times during a lap in our event too, but love that it's right there and the weighted knob is further from the linkage so it almost throws itself into gear - here is a link to a video i made of my last event and at about 4:45 it shows me shifting from third to second in a turn and then back into third on the straight, unfortunatly i dont have a long enough straight to have to hit forth (over 105mph) but you'll get the idea
you guys do really good for as fast as those cones come up on you, our session consists of 2minute laps (hitting 100 on three straights) and 8 - 10 laps per session, i'd suck at cones i don't have good enough reflexes for that
here's the link vtecfit1's Channel - YouTube
im not trying to thread jack, just my .02

oh and in my video i cant do the above trick because my belts retract in the door AND the b pillar, so as you can see i'm struggling to stay in my seat in the corner - i just picked up a fixed race seat and harness so i won't have the same problem again
RACE ON!!!

 

Thanks vtechfit1. Naw, no offense. I'm just a..."once a month, push your car a little to the limit driver," so I' don't know a lot of stuff. I'll give your seat belt procedure a try.

I liked your video. Too bad about the copyright thing. I wish you had more camera-facing-forward shots. I'd love to see more of what you're seeing when you're driving. I saw the other video from the car behind you. It looked like you were hauling/flying out there. Your CRX sure rockets.

I'll bet that new seat and harness will be awesome. Thanks and Laters..

 

Raton,

Great job edging out the competition by 0.061 seconds. That's less than a fifth of a fast eye blink. Photo finish time.

It's pretty even each event. Makes for some excitement.

You'll have to find a way to win. Somehow.

Next event Oct 2. Get ready.

 

Thanks Brad. Yeah, that was super close. Howard is really getting the feel of his car.

I set my Skunk2 coilovers to 7 of 12 (front) and 12 (rear). On those slaloms, it felt like the rear was really swinging out, but it seemed to help on the tight turns. On the last run (the fastest), I increased the front tire pressure to 41 (from 36psi) and rear to 39 (from 36psi). I think this helped.

I checked my Hawk hps brake pads today and was surprised they weren't as worn as I thought. I might change them before the next event. Yup, I'm trying to find all kinds of ways to win. Of course, gotta work on my driving too.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera mount for the event. So no videos. I wish I had a video cuz I wanted to see the squirliness of the slaloms.

Congrats on you 1st place Brad. See you next time.

 

There was another SCCA event @ the stadium this past Sunday. The Fit did good. I ran in the ST class and my friend drove my Fit in the STX class.

Setup was:
- 15" Dunlop Star Specs (38psi front; 33psi rear); 15" Enkei RPF1s
- Skunk2 c/o dampening (7 front;10 rear)
- Throttle controller set to SP7 (max)
- fuel was almost on empty (may try more fuel next time)

Here's the video from my ST class runs:
10-2-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs - YouTube

Here's the video from Dirk's STX runs:
10-2-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - Dirk's 4 runs - YouTube

Dirk actually beat my time by .201 seconds. haha. Better driver. Looks like we can't be afraid to downshift if the course element looks like it might need it. There s/b a right way to downshift though--that's gonna be the goal.

It was fun as always. Laters...

 

We had the 6th SCCA event for 2011 this past Sunday. It was the 2nd annual Curtis Lee Memorial event.

Here's the in-car video from the event: 10-31-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs - YouTube

I just installed the PRM cold-air intake and was able to test it out @ the event. It felt good; however, the T1R Chamber intake has way more low-to-mid end response. I'm going to use the PRM @ the next event & hopefully, I can change it to the T1R intake for fun runs and see how the times compare.

Good fun. Laters.

 

Raton,

Congrats on the win. Tough battle and it was anyone's to take. I think both of you could have lowered your times but only if you could find a cleaner line and pushed harder.

Interesting videos of you and Dirk driving the previous event. Study the hand positions in each video and see how each driver's hands are used. Look for crossed arms- better to shuffle your arms to keep hands at 2 and 10 or 3 and 9 when possible.

For contrast my video run 3-
Autocross 10-30-11 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Things move along quickly so you have to look ahead and try not to use the brakes too much. Run time was 36.1 seconds.

Only two weeks until next event. Stay sharp.